The red-fronted tinkerbird, (''Pogoniulus pusillus'') is a small

African barbet The African barbets are birds in the family Lybiidae. There are 43 species ranging from the type genus ''Lybius'' of forest interior to the tinkerbirds (''Pogoniulus'') of forest and scrubland. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, w ...

. Barbets are

near-passerine Near passerines and higher land-bird assemblage are terms of traditional, pre- cladistic taxonomy that have often been given to tree-dwelling birds or those most often believed to be related to the true passerines (order Passeriformes) owing t ...

birds with bristles around the base of the bill. They have a world-wide tropical distribution. The red-fronted tinkerbird is a widespread and frequently common resident breeder in eastern

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, with a separate population from southern Sudan and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

south to central and eastern

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. It is sometimes considered conspecific with its northern counterpart, the

yellow-fronted tinkerbird The yellow-fronted tinkerbird (''Pogoniulus chrysoconus'') is a small African barbet formerly known as yellow-fronted tinker barbet. It is sometimes considered conspecific with its southern counterpart, the red-fronted tinkerbird, ''Pogoniulus pu ...

, ''Pogoniulus chrysoconus''. The red-fronted tinkerbird is associated with

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

forest and scrub. It nests in a tree hole and lays two or three eggs. It eats berries and fruit, particularly

mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant ...

, but also takes insects as it forages in deep cover. The red-fronted tinkerbird is in length. It is a plump bird, with a short neck, large head, and short tail. The adult has black upper parts heavily streaked with yellow and white, and a golden wing patch. Its head has a strong black and white pattern, with a red forecrown spot. Its underparts and rump are lemon yellow. Sexes are similar in appearance, but young birds lack the red forehead. This species is distinguished from the yellow-fronted tinkerbird by the colour of the forehead spot, the golden wing patch, and its overall darker appearance. It is often confused with the red-fronted barbet, but it is significantly smaller than that species, has a black moustache and a less robust bill, and lacks a broad yellow

superciliary stripe The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head.Dunn and Alderfer (2006), p. 10 Also k ...

. At about 100 repetitions per minute, the red-fronted tinkerbird's call is a fast ''tink-tink-tink-tink'', very similar to that of the yellow-fronted tinkerbird. Many barbets perch prominently, but unlike their larger relatives, the smaller tinkerbirds sing from cover and are more frequently heard than seen.

References

* Sinclair, Hockey and Tarboton, ''SASOL Birds of Southern Africa'',

External links

* Red-fronted tinkerbird
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1273443

red-fronted tinkerbird The red-fronted tinkerbird, (''Pogoniulus pusillus'') is a small African barbet. Barbets are near-passerine birds with bristles around the base of the bill. They have a world-wide tropical distribution. The red-fronted tinkerbird is a widesprea ...

Birds of East Africa Birds of Southern Africa